New Life daily devotion - Apr. 10, 2011

Fields of ChangeSow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you.
Hosea 10:12

Character isn’t instantly created. It’s carved out.

To God, our lives are like a series of fields that need working. Once one has been worked, we move to the next. At each stop He encourages us to get busy tilling ground hardened by sin, pulling weeds grown in neglect, and planting seeds of biblical truth. He makes us willing and able for the work; and He makes each task fruitful through the power of the Holy Spirit.

But change does happen. The Bible gives us insight how. Think of Joseph in an Egyptian jail, and Moses in the desert. Recall David’s years of flight from Saul and Jonah’s time in the belly of a fish. Reflect upon Gideon in a cave and Job’s catastrophes. Consider Abraham’s wanderings and Peter’s three denials of Christ. Look at the apostle Paul’s blinding encounter with the risen Lord on the road to Damascus.

These stories, and many more like them, recount the ways of God among the men He claims for His own. As you spend time considering them, you will see a pattern emerge: brokenness, humility, and the learning of patience comes before spiritual maturity and usefulness. Open up your Bible and search out these stories. Learn from them. They demonstrate the pattern of change for your own life in Christ.

“You can tell a lot about a fellow’s character by his way of eating jelly beans.”
Ronald Reagan 40th U.S. President- (1911-2004)

About New Life Live!

America's #1 Christian Counseling Call in Show. Since 1985 New Life Live! has been broadcast as a nationally-syndicated, interactive talk radio program which deals with mental health, emotional, relational and spiritual issues from a biblical perspective.

About Steve Arterburn

Steve Arterburn is the founder and chairman of New Life Ministriesand host of the #1 nationally syndicated Christian counseling talk showNew Life Live! heard and watched by over 2 million people each week on nearly 200 radio stations nationwide, on XM and Sirius Satellite radio and on NRBTV. Steve is also the host of New Life TV, a web-based channel dedicated to transforming lives through God’s truth. Steve is the founder of the Women of Faith conferences attended by over 5 million people. He also serves as a teaching pastor in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Steve is a nationally and internationally known public speaker and has been featured in national media venues such as Oprah, Inside Edition,Good Morning America, CNN Live, The New York Times, USA Today, US News & World Report, ABC World News Tonight, and ironically in GQand Rolling Stone magazines. Steve has spoken at major events for theNational Center for Fathering, American Association of Christian Counselors, Promise Keepers Canada, Life Well Conferences in Australia and The Salvation Army to name a few.

Steve is a best-selling author of books such as Every Man’s Battle,Healing Is A Choice and his latest books, The 7-Minute Marriage Solution, The Book of Life Recovery, Is This The One? and recently co-authored Worthy of Her Trust with Jason Martinkus. With over 8 million books in print he has been writing about God’s transformational truth since 1984. He has been nominated for numerous writing awards and has won three Gold Medallions for writing excellence. Along with Dr. Dave Stoop, he edited and produced the #1 selling Life Recovery Bible. For a more comprehensive list of his books, visit our store site.

His speaking topics address issues common to leaders, adult men and women, including Every Man’s Battle, Lose it For Life, The 7-Minute Marriage Solution, Every Heart Restored, and Healing is a Choice. Steve’s ministry endeavors focus on identifying and compassionately responding to the needs of those seeking healing and restoration through God’s truth.

Steve has degrees from Baylor University and The University of North Texas as well as two honorary doctorate degrees and is currently completing his doctoral studies in Christian counseling.